Manchester City: Pep Guardiola explains why his side must thank Liverpool this season

City will become the first defending champions to retain the title in a decade if win their last three games

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have raised the bar in English football and thanked Liverpool for helping them come close to it once again.

City will become the first defending champions to retain the title in a decade if they reach the 98-point mark by winning their last three games, starting with Sunday’s trip to Burnley.

Liverpool, though, can still finish with a total of 97. It would be the third-highest points haul of the Premier League era and yet still not enough to dethrone City.

Guardiola believes that City’s 100-point total last season was a game-changer, setting a new standard for title contenders in the process.

And the City manager also paid tribute to Liverpool for ensuring that his players had to maintain the same level in order to defend their crown.

“The standard, we created last season at Manchester City,” Guardiola said. “People know that before you had to be close to 90, now you have to be close to 100.

“The standard was last season. We helped Liverpool to achieve it and Liverpool helped us to to maintain this level.

“Thanks to Liverpool we are competing as we competed last season. Liverpool realise that to win the Premier League right now you have to make a lot of points.”

Guardiola believes that – Liverpool aside – the rest of the chasing pack will need to improve next season in order to challenge the top two.

“Next season, Chelsea is getting better, United will be getting better, Tottenham,” he said.

“Before it was easier. Before everyone can lose to everybody. Last season in our case and then this season, two teams won a lot of games. They can win everywhere.

“That’s the standard. You know when Usain Bolt made a 100m race, that is the standard. The other people have to achieve it.

“18 Grand Slams for Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods. That’s the standard. It’s the same. 100 points last season. The other teams, if they want to compete they have to do that.”